Those of you who have followed me for more than a day realize that my novels are Christian fiction – Christian thrillers to be more precise.
Technically, this means that the books support Christian ideals. However, if you think this means that every Christian fiction story must read like a hymnal, you haven’t read much in the genre.
Permit me to mention two examples, in addition to my own brand of Christian fiction.
Ted Dekker writes thrillers, fantasies, and children’s stories within the Christian fiction category. The five or six books I’ve read are wonderful stories, deeply theological, but not “religious.” In my opinion they are in a league with C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. There is conflict, death, warfare, and evil in his stories. There is also love in abundance. God is never far away, even if He appears as a majestic lion, with a young boy as a sidekick symbolizing Jesus. Dekker’s stories can be fully enjoyed by believers and non-believers alike. I don’t recall he ever using the word “Christian” in the books I’ve read.
Charles Martin writes thrillers and dramas, mostly in the Christian fiction genre. In the Murphy Shepherd series, he tackles head on the topic of sex trafficking. I admire his ability to bring out the horrors of this evil without graphic and gratuitous detail. The reader isn’t told what goes on behind doors, but can guess. The search for love and trust in God are strong themes in his books.
Another thing these best-selling authors have in common is the depth of their characters. The protagonists struggle with internal doubts and external evil. They have “baggage.” Their actions may be heroic, but they are anything but super-heroes.
Those of you who’ve read any of my major novels (that includes a lot of you for which I am grateful) know that the stories don’t shy away from sensitive topics and the characters have faults, egos, and weaknesses. They sin just like the rest of us. They fall away from God and come running (or crawling) back.
I call my style, Christian fiction with an edge. Click below to check out eBook samples of novels in The Lighthouse series.